Kate Schieving
October 16, 2023
Disclaimer: This, and my second blog post, are well-overdue. Luckily, I have kept a daily journal so I will be referencing past entries to complete these reflections so late.
The first two weeks in Madrid offered a challenging adjustment period.
The first challenge was with my accommodation. Throughout the summer, I had been searching for a homestay arrangement, but unfortunately most families had been booked for September. I settled for a room rented through AirBnB. Much to my surprise, the condition and rules of the booking were far different than had been agreed at booking. There is always some variance to be expected, but I was overwhelmed by disappointment – incredibly cluttered (think TLC ‘Hoarders’), many broken things, no air conditioning (despite it being advertised), along with many absurd rules – like to ‘sneak in’ the building and to not use the stove/oven. Despite the discomfort, I spent two days telling myself to practice flexibility. Eventually, I broke and asked AirBnB for any options. Immediately, they offered a refund and a rebooking. I was so grateful, but also surprised at how seamless the process was. Generally, I struggle to ask for help and often ‘tough it out’… this situation showed me that asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but rather strength and the relief it can bring is immense.
Another adjustment that I had not been expecting was the language barrier. It is embarrassing to admit my presumption that, because of the strong tourism industry in Spain (+100 million visitors annually), I figured English would be much more prevalent, especially in a tourism hub like Madrid. Nonetheless, I appreciate that Spaniards take pride in their language and culture, and many are kind when I interact with my paltry attempts of Spanish. With even more motivation, I registered for six weeks of evening Spanish classes at a local language school called Inhispania. Oh my goodness… my first class was quite a shock. As an A1 level class, the instructor speaks in Spanish about 90% of the time, including grammar instruction. It is overwhelming, but as such, my understanding of and empathy for the experiences of ELL students in Canada has grown. I am only there for four hours a week, and it is a struggle… I can’t imagine what it must be like for an entire day, five days a week. This is an experience that will stay at the forefront of my thoughts as we move into Field and eventually, our own classrooms in Canada.
I was relieved to begin assisting at our school, SEK El Castillo, during Week 2. I was placed to assist in Year 2 with two teachers, Ana and Pilar. They are both in their second year of teaching and we have lots of discussions about university, the perils of the first year teacher, and our plans for the future. Being only the students’ second week of school, behaviour management was a focus of teachers and I could tell by their loaded sighs at the end of the day. What has struck me most about SEK is the open classrooms and glass walls, and the noise that often accompanies this. I began to wonder if this is an effective learning environment – don’t the students get distracted with the surrounding noise ? The school day is also quite long, 9am-5pm. Even with the long recess breaks and sports classes, I saw the students absolutely exhausted by 4pm and wondered if the day is too long for them. Maybe they are just getting used to their routine after a summer of fun?
Overall, looking forward to a better six weeks ahead. Here are some photos of places I was able to visit in Madrid thus far.
